System and method for generating a list of devices in physical proximity of a terminal

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to generating a list of devices in physical proximity of each other and utilizing said list, for example, for sharing of content between a plurality of mobile devices applying individual media items such as address book entries, calendar entries, and/or Short Messaging Services (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) messages.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to communication between mobile devices such asmobile or cellular telephones and/or personal digital assistants (PDAs).In particular, this invention relates to generating a list of devices inphysical proximity of each other and utilizing said list, for example,for sharing of content between a plurality of mobile devices applyingindividual media items such as address book entries, calendar entries,and/or Short Messaging Services (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Services(MMS) messages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lately, mobile devices have evolved to perform, in addition to voicecommunication, storing, generation and transmission of text messagessuch as SMS messages as well as storing, generation and transmission ofMMS messages comprising a video, picture or audio sequence. Furthermore,mobile devices have evolved to include PDA features such as calendar,address book, and even computer features such as email functions.Consequently, mobile devices must be able to handle a larger amount ofpersonal content and/or media collections.

Software applications for managing media collections in personalcomputers have become widely adopted as the number of media items hasincreased. Prior art software applications for personal computersutilize metadata or information about each of the media collection itemsfor managing and categorizing a media collection.

There are two primary means of sharing content and items amongst mobiledevices in the prior art. A first primary means comprises selecting anindividual item, such as a text or an image, in the mobile device's userinterface, selecting the sharing means (SMS, MMS or email) and finallyselecting the recipient separately before the item is forwarded to saidrecipient. A second primary means comprises forwarding an item, usuallyby email, to a sharing service, such as a weblog or moblog service, andforwarding a link, to the intended recipient, who thereafter may accessthe item.

At the moment however, sharing personal content on a mobile device iscomplicated and burdensome for a user of the mobile device in the priorart systems. Moreover, less sharing implies less receiving of personalcontent, and altogether a-less central role for the mobile device as amediating center piece of personal content sharing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to generate a delivery list ofrecipients based on the physical proximity of said recipients.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system andmethod for enabling a strengthened sharing of personal content betweenmobile devices.

A particular advantage of embodiments of the present invention is apossibility to generate a delivery list based on the information ondevices nearby. The transmitting device may be provided with an optionof sharing personal content with devices detected in a local networksuch as Bluetooth or wireless local area network (WLAN), or detected ina larger network such as general mobile telecommunications network incooperation with positioning data of devices in the mobiletelecommunications network.

The term Bluetooth is in the context with a local network to beconstrued as if the devices are not necessarily connected. To get aBluetooth device address the devices do not have to enter “connected”mode. E.g. a global Bluetooth inquiry is sufficient to obtain theBluetooth device addresses.

The above objects and advantage together with numerous other objects,advantages and features, which will become evident from below detaileddescription, are obtained according to a first aspect of the presentinvention, by a method comprising:

-   -   (a) utilizing a communication network to identify one or more        devices in physical proximity of a terminal;    -   (b) generating a list of said identified one or more devices in        response to a user controlled operation of said terminal; and    -   (c) associating said list with said user controlled operation.

The user controlled operation according to the first aspect of thepresent invention may have a recording nature and provide an item. Theitem may comprise a text recording, an image recording, an audiorecording or any combination thereof.

The method according to the first aspect of the present invention mayutilize a communication network to provide a list of one or more devicesin physical proximity of a terminal such as a mobile communicationterminal. The method identifies the one or more devices in physicalproximity of said terminal; generates a list of the identified one ormore devices in response to a user controlled operation; and associatessaid list with said user controlled operation. The terminal may also beable to access and utilize said list.

The method according to the first aspect of the present invention maycover situations in which these steps are not done immediately. Forexample, (a) may be performed in the background all the time or whenspecific actions are done, such as when images are captured, step (b)may be performed when the specific actions are done or user explicitlydecides to share something. In fact, the list may be generated withoutthe user explicitly requesting so e.g. as part of a general routine ofthe terminal. Step (c) may be performed subsequently to the generationof the list and the terminal may access the list to utilize the datatherein for a wide variety of purposes.

For example, the terminal may utilize the list for determiningparticipation in guided tours, that is, a tour guide may utilize acommunication network to identify one or more devices in physicalproximity and use the terminal to generate a list of participants. Thetour guide may further utilize the list for generating a bill forservices rendered. The list may be associated with a user controlledoperation i.e. the tour guide may, for example, take a picture ofdifferent groups participating in different tours during the day so thatthe list of participants is associated with said picture. In this waythe tour guide may later send a bill to the identified participants ofthe different groups and possibly also the picture of the group for asouvenir. In addition to taking a picture, the tour guide may have alsoother kinds of possibilities to generate the list.

Obviously, the terminal may utilize the list for any number of billingand confirmation of presence environments.

Further the terminal according to the first aspect of the presentinvention may comprise selecting one or more recipients from said listand sharing an item, such as digital content, associated with theterminal with the one or more recipients. The terminal may perform thesharing in delayed fashion, i.e. after the selected recipients areaccessible. Hence sharing may be performed at any time e.g. a week lateror month later.

The communications network according to the first aspect of the presentinvention may comprise a Bluetooth network, a wireless local areanetwork, a mobile telecommunications network, an inter-network such asthe Internet, or any combination thereof. That is, some of the one ormore devices may be connected in a Bluetooth network and other of theone or more devices may be connected in a wireless local area network.In general, the communications network may be implemented as anywideband such as ultra wideband (also known as UWB or as digital pulsewireless).

The identifying step according to the first aspect of the presentinvention may comprise receiving a communication network identity suchas Bluetooth ID, radio frequency ID, wireless communication protocol ID,cell ID or any combination thereof, for identifying a device withinphysical proximity. Obviously, any positioning means may be utilized forestablishing an identity. For example, it might be possible that thelocations of the users are available in a presence server and whengenerating an image in a mobile telephone the mobile telephone may askfor nearby mobile telephones, which may be interested in a copy of theimage. The query could be limited to certain other mobile telephoneswhich have enabled their location sharing functionality. To enhanceprivacy, the presence server may only return a list of mobile telephonesnearby, not every one's location.

The physical proximity according to the first aspect of the presentinvention may be defined by a transmission range within a localcommunications network, defined by a border at a geographical distancefrom the terminal, or any combination thereof.

The method according to the first aspect of the present invention mayfurther comprise associating a communication network identity of adevice with a personal identity of an associated user of said device,and associating said personal identity of said user of said device witha sharing means.

The sharing means according to the first aspect of the present inventionmay comprise a short messaging services message, a multimedia messagingservices message, an email, or any combination thereof. Further, thesharing means may comprise a server system having a shared memoryaccessible by the terminal and the one or more devices. The serversystem may be accessible through using a protocol such as FTP protocol.

The sharing may be performed immediately after recording an item ordigital content, such as a photo, and the sharing means may utilizepotentially available local connectivity such as BlueTooth, WLAN or UWB.In some cases it may be unnecessary to associate network identities withmobile telephones. For example, it may be reasonable to attempt to sendthe item or digital content directly to each nearby Bluetooth devicewithout having to identify the devices. Of course, in many cases it isadvantageous to identify the devices so that the users of the mobiletelephones do not end up sending items or digital content to undesiredrecipients.

The method according to the first aspect of the present invention mayfurther comprise a step for clustering the item with any other item ofthe terminal according to recording time of the item and any other item.The step may further cluster the item with any other item of theterminal according to associated geographical recording position of theterminal.

The method according to the first aspect of the present invention mayfurther comprise a step of drafting a sharing message in accordance withthe sharing means. The sharing message may comprise the item or a linkto a shared memory storing the item. The method may further enable auser of the terminal to configure the sharing to be automatic, ifspecific conditions are met. The link may be an access to weblog/moblogor the sharing device itself, which may have restricted access.

Alternatively, the user of a mobile telephone may have an easy access tothe comprised list of possible recipients when selecting the recipientsto receive one or more selected items. If many items are selected thelist may be, for example, a union of individual delivery lists.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous otherobjects, advantages and features, which will become evident from belowdetailed description, are obtained according to a second aspect of thepresent invention by a system comprising:

-   -   (a) means for utilizing a communication network to identify one        or more devices in physical proximity of said terminal;    -   (b) means for generating a list of said identified one or more        devices in response to a user operation of said terminal; and    -   (c) means for associating said list with said user controlled        operation.

The user controlled operation may have a recording nature and provide anitem. The item may comprise a text recording, an image recording, anaudio recording or any combination thereof.

The system according to the second aspect of the present invention mayprovide a list of one or more devices in a communication network, whichone or more devices are in physical proximity of a terminal. The systemmay comprise means for identifying one or more devices in physicalproximity of said terminal; means for generating a list of saididentified one or more devices in response to a user controlledoperation; and means for associating said list with said user controlledoperation.

The system according to the second aspect of the present invention mayfurther comprise sharing medium for sharing an item associated with theterminal with one or more recipients of said list.

The means for utilizing a communication network to identify one or moredevices according to the second aspect of the present invention may belocated in the terminal, may be located in a positioning servercommunicating with the terminal, or any combination thereof. Similarly,the means for generating a list may be located in the terminal, may belocated in a positioning server communicating with the terminal, or anycombination thereof. Further, the means for associating may be locatedin the terminal. These means may thus advantageously be implementedexternally to the terminal or in fact be integrated in the terminaltogether with the processing unit.

The means for utilizing a communication network to identify one or moredevices in physical proximity according to the first aspect of thepresent invention may be adapted to communicate a communication networkidentity for an identified device to the generator unit or any othermeans for generating a list. The communication network identity maycomprise Bluetooth ID, radio frequency ID, wireless communicationprotocol ID, cell ID, or any combination thereof.

The means for generating a list according to the second aspect of thepresent invention may be adapted to receive the communication networkidentity for an identified device and to select for the identifieddevice a device specific sharing medium.

The sharing medium according to the second aspect of the presentinvention may comprise a server system having a shared memory beingaccessible by the terminal and the one or more devices. In fact theterminal may act as a server itself.

The terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention maybe adapted to cluster the item with any other item of the terminalaccording to recording time of the item and the any other item. Theterminal may further be adapted to cluster the item with any other itemof the terminal according to associated geographical recording positionof the terminal.

The terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention maycomprise a message generator adapted to draft a sharing messagecomprising the item or a link to the shared medium.

The terminal and the other one or more devices may each comprise acommunication terminal. The term “communication terminal” should in thiscontext be construed as a mobile or stationary communication unit suchas a mobile or cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, acomputer (portable or stationary), an accessible storage facility, anaccessible display facility, a digital television, or any combinationthereof.

The system according to the second aspect of the present invention mayincorporate any features of the method according to the first aspect ofthe present invention.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous otherobjects, advantages and features, which will become evident from belowdetailed description, are obtained according to a third aspect of thepresent invention by a communication terminal comprising means forutilizing a communication network to identify one or more devices inphysical proximity of said terminal; means for generating a list of saididentified one or more devices in response to a user operation of saidterminal; and means for associating said list with said user controlledoperation.

The user controlled operation may have a recording nature and provide anitem. The item may comprise a text recording, an image recording, anaudio recording or any combination thereof.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the presentinvention may generate a list of one or more devices connected in acommunication network with and in physical proximity of saidcommunication terminal. The communication terminal may comprise meansfor utilizing a communication network to identify one or more devices inphysical proximity of said communication terminal, and a means forgenerating a list of said identified one or more devices in response toa user controlled operation, and means for associating said list withsaid user controlled operation.

The communication terminal according to the third aspect of the presentinvention may further be adapted to share the item associated with saidcommunication terminal with any of said one or more devices in said listthrough said communications network.

The means for identifying one or more devices according to the thirdaspect of the present invention may be adapted to receive acommunication network identity for an identified terminal from apositioning server and adapted to communicate the communication networkidentity to the means for generating a list. The means for identifyingone or more devices may further be adapted to receive a communicationnetwork identity for an identified terminal from said identifiedterminal.

The communication terminal according to the third aspect of the presentinvention may incorporate any features of the method according to thefirst aspect and the system according to the second aspect of thepresent invention.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous otherobjects, advantages and features, which will become evident from belowdetailed description, are obtained according to a fourth aspect of thepresent invention by a computer program comprising code adapted toperform the method according to the first aspect of the presentinvention when said program is run in a system according to secondaspect of the present invention or a communication terminal according tothe third aspect of the present invention.

The computer program according to the fourth aspect of the presentinvention may incorporate any features of the method according to thefirst aspect, the system according to the second aspect, and thecommunication terminal according to the third aspect of the presentinvention.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous otherobjects, advantages and features, which will become evident from belowdetailed description, are obtained according to a fifth aspect of thepresent invention by a computer program product comprising code adaptedto perform the method according to the first aspect of the presentinvention.

The computer program product according to the fifth aspect of thepresent invention may incorporate any features of the method accordingto the first aspect, the system according to the second aspect, thecommunication terminal according to the third aspect of the presentinvention, and the computer program according to the fourth aspect ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention, will be better understood through the followingillustrative and non-limiting detailed description of embodiments of thepresent invention, with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1, shows a system according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2, shows a system according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3, shows a mobile device according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4, shows a flow chart of a method computer program, and computerprogram product according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in whichis shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modificationsmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a system designated in its entirety by reference numeral10, which system 10 is for communicating personal content between aplurality of devices 12. In this context personal content is to beconstrued as data associated with a specific device.

The plurality of devices 12 comprises stationary and mobile devicesconnected to each other through a local communications network 14 suchas Bluetooth, wired or wireless local area networks, wired or wirelesstelecommunication networks, or any combination thereof. It is, however,possible to detect devices even though they are not in the “connected”mode. For example, a global Bluetooth inquiry is enough to get theaddresses of the Bluetooth devices.

The mobile devices may as shown in FIG. 1 comprise mobile telephones 16,18 and/or a computer 20 each having a physical proximity so as to enableutilization of the local communications network 14. Obviously, thecomputer 20 may be a stationary or portable device.

The stationary devices may further, as shown in FIG. 1, comprise adisplay having physical proximity so as to enable utilization of thelocal communications network 14.

The mobile telephone 16 generates a delivery list 26 comprisinginformation regarding all other devices 18, 20 and 22 connected to thelocal communications network 14. The delivery list 26 is generated inconnection with an internal or external request. The internal requestmay, for example, be a photo application in the mobile telephone 16thereby establishing a list of user of devices present when a picture istaken. The external request may, for example, be the user of the mobiletelephone 16 requesting a delivery list 26 so as to establish users ofother devices 18, 20, 22 in physical proximity at a given moment, theuser may subsequently use the delivery list 26 to forward messagesrelating to any of the other devices 18, 20 and 22 relating to saidgiven moment (e.g. a picture of an event shared at said given moment bythe mobile telephone 16 and the other devices 18, 20, 22).

The user of the mobile telephone 16 utilizes the delivery list 26, forexample, for billing of services rendered by the other devices 18, 20,22 within a given period of time, such as a guided tour through a museumor a city. Alternatively, the user of the mobile telephone 16 utilizesthe delivery list 26 for recapping presence of the other devices at aparticular point in time.

As a further example, the mobile telephone 16 comprises personal content24, which the user of the mobile telephone 16 wishes to share with thedevices 18, 20, 22 connected to the local communications network 14. Themobile telephone 16 enables the user to share the personal content 24 toany of the devices 18, 20, 22 in the delivery list 26. The mobiletelephone 16 may share the personal content 24 by forwarding a messagepackage such as a SMS, MMS or email message to selected recipientsamongst the connecting devices 18, 20, 22 in the local communicationsnetwork 14. Alternatively, the mobile telephone 16 may share thepersonal content 24 by forwarding a link message. The link message maydirect selected recipients of the connecting devices 18, 20, 22 to asharing service possibly implemented in a sharing server 28 connectingdirectly to the local communications network 14 or connecting indirectlyto the local communications network 14 through one of the connectingdevices 16, 18, 20, 22, which in FIG. 1 is shown as connection 30.

In an alternative embodiment the sharing server 28 is implemented in themobile telephone 16.

The system 10 thus utilizes the local communications network 14 forestablishing devices in the physical proximity of the sharing device byidentifying devices connected to the local communications network 14,for example, by establishing Bluetooth identities available to thesharing device.

Obviously, the other devices 18, 20, and 22 may be connected to variouscommunication networks, which are accessible by the mobile telephone 16.The mobile telephone 16 thus utilizes its accessibility to thesenetworks to establish the other devices 18, 20, and 22 which are inphysical proximity of the mobile telephone 16. Hence the mobiletelephone device 18 may be identified through a telephone communicationnetwork or a Bluetooth network, while the computer device 20 and thedisplay device 22 may be identified through the telephone communicationnetwork and a computer network, or a Bluetooth network.

FIG. 2 shows a system designated in entirety by reference numeral 50,which system 50 is for communicating personal content between aplurality of devices 52.

The plurality of devices 52 are connected to a wirelesstelecommunications network 54 comprises antennas 56, 58 for receivingand transmitting signals between the plurality of devices 52 such asmobile telephones 60, 62, 64. Each of the antennas 56 and 58 cover aspecific geographic region, shown in FIG. 2 by having mobile telephones60 and 62 communicating via antenna 56 and mobile telephone 64communicating via antenna 58. The antennas 56 and 58 are interconnectedby a communication network 66, which may comprise wired or wirelesstelecommunication channels, dedicated data channels or internetworkingchannels (e.g. Internet channels).

The telecommunications network 54 further comprises a physicalpositioning service in a device positioning server 68. The positioningservice may utilize various means for establishing physical position ofthe mobile telephones 60, 62, 64 connecting to the telecommunicationsnetwork 54, for example, utilization of a global positioning systemnetwork or triangulation between antennas in the telecommunicationnetwork 66. Obviously, this technique calls for a definition ofproximity, which may be defined, for example, as a range of 0-5 meters,0-10 meters, 0-20 meters, 0-30 meters, 0-40 meters, 0-50 meters, or evenlarger.

As an example, the mobile telephone 60 comprises personal content 70,which the user of the mobile telephone 60 wishes to share with themobile telephone 62 being in physical proximity of the mobile telephone60. The mobile telephone 60 utilizes positioning service informationfrom the device positioning server 68 to generate a delivery list 72comprising information regarding mobile telephones in physicalproximity, and the mobile telephone 60 enables the user to share thepersonal content 70 to any of the mobile telephones in the delivery list72. The mobile telephone 60 may, as described above with reference toFIG. 1, share the personal content 70 by forwarding a message packagesuch as a SMS or MMS message to selected recipients amongst the mobiletelephones in the physical proximity of the mobile telephone 60.Alternatively, the mobile telephone 60 may share the personal content 70by forwarding a link message directing mobile telephones to a sharingservice possibly implemented in a sharing server 74 connecting to thecommunications network 66.

The system 50 thus utilizes the device positioning server 68 forestablishing devices in the physical proximity of the sharing device,for example, by a global positioning system or by triangulation betweenantennas.

FIG. 3 shows a mobile telephone designated in entirety by referencenumeral 80. The mobile telephone 80 comprises a loudspeaker 82, adisplay 84, a keypad 86, and a microphone 88 for enabling the user ofthe mobile telephone 80 to generate outgoing messages as well as to readincoming messages. The mobile telephone 80 communicates with otherdevices via antenna 90 through a wireless communications network, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 2, or via antenna 92 through a localcommunications network as described with reference to FIG. 1.

The mobile telephone 80 further comprises an identifying unit 94 adaptedto identify devices in physical proximity of the mobile telephone 80from positioning service information from a device positioning servervia the antenna 90 and/or from response data from a local communicationsnetwork via the antenna 92. The devices in physical proximity of themobile telephone 80 may be based on Bluetooth ID, radio frequency ID(RFID), WLAN ID, positioning services, cell ID, a presence server or anyother means available. The identifying unit 94 may configure thepositioning service information or the response data according to anydesired request. For example, the identifying unit 94 may utilize alocal phonebook on the mobile telephone 80 as a delimiter on thepositioning service information or the response data so as to narrow thenumber of possible device identities. It is also possible that the userhas, for privacy reasons, a possibility to enable and disable thelocation sharing functionality. The identifying unit 94 performsidentification concurrently or in real-time with the generation ofpersonal content item such as an image or an audio data section.

The mobile telephone 80 further comprises a delivery list generator 96for presenting the user of the mobile telephone 80 with possiblerecipients (i.e. devices) in physical proximity of the mobile telephone80.

Finally, the mobile telephone 80 further comprises a sharing listgenerator 98 for recording the user's selections and enable sharing ofpersonal content with selected recipients.

When the mobile telephone 80 records a text, sound, image or anycombination thereof as personal content, the mobile telephone 80 maydesire to share this personal content with devices in the vicinity,since it is possible that devices in the proximity may somehow berelated to the personal content or at least interested in receiving itas their personal content, e.g. the mobile telephone 80 generates animage through a camera 100, in which image users of mobile telephones inthe proximity are present and therefore would appreciate a copy of theimage. The identifying unit 94 identifies the mobile telephones in theproximity, the list generator 96 generates a delivery list of thepossible recipients in the proximity and the user selects any recipientsand the sharing list generator 98 records the selected recipients andshares the personal content with the selected recipients.

The mobile telephone 80 may store a recorded specific personal contentitem together with associated information regarding devices in thephysical proximity. This provides the user of the mobile telephone 80 togenerate personal content items and subsequently forward any of theitems at a later stage.

FIG. 4 shows a method designated in entirety by reference numeral 150,which method 150 enables a sharing device to share personal content witha plurality of devices in physical proximity with the sharing device.

The method 150, which may be implemented in a sharing device as apersonal content manager application, comprises an identifying step 152during which the method 150 performs an identification of devices inphysical proximity with the sharing device, for example, a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant or a computer, simultaneously orconcurrently with the recording of a personal content item such as aphoto, soundtrack or any other multimedia data.

The method 150 further comprises a first associating step 154 duringwhich the method 150 performs an association between identified devicesin physical proximity, that is a device ID, and personal identity of theusers of said identified devices. Advantageously, this may be achievedby utilizing an address book in the sharing device.

The method 150 further comprises a second associating step 156 duringwhich the method 150 performs a further association between personalidentity of the users of said identified devices with sharing means.That is, which type of sharing means a particular personal identity mayrequire such as mobile telephone number for forwarding SMS or MMS orIP-address for forwarding email.

The first and second associating step 154 and 156 enable the sharingdevice to know who the nearby persons are and what are theirrequirements for accessing shared personal content.

The method 150 performs periodically, for example, by the personalcontent manager application in the sharing device, the identifying step152, the first and second associating steps 154 and 156. These steps152, 154 and 156 may comprise compatibility between Internet based mediaobjects and mobile telecommunications network based media objects (e.g.MMS) so that the personal content items themselves comprise metadatarendering the detection of sharing means automatic. Thus there is norequirement for the user of the sharing device to manually add “sharingmeans” entries to the address book.

The method 150 further comprises a clustering step 158 to be performedperiodically by, for example, the personal content manager applicationin the sharing device, during which the method 150 clusters the personalcontent items according to time and/or geographical position. Hereby thesharing device quickly may identify further possible recipients notnecessarily present during generation of one item such as a photo, butpresent at a later time during which a second item was generated.

The method 150 further comprises a filtering step 160 to be performedperiodically by, for example, the personal content manager applicationin the sharing device, during which the method 150 filters based on anyuser or application determined schedule. That is, the method 150 mayfilter the identified devices according to a favorite list ofrecipients. This capability is of high value when the user of thesharing device generates a plurality of personal content items such asphotos and/or soundtracks.

The method 150 further comprises a drafting step 162 during which themethod 150 drafts a personal content sharing message or messages. Thisdraft is displayed to the user of the sharing device during a displayingstep 164, which may be utilized by any appropriate application such asthe personal content manager application or, in fact, a messagingapplication or email application. The drafted personal content sharingmessage or messages are shared to selected devices during a finalsharing step 166. The devices do not necessarily have to be close to thesharing device during sharing. For example, a birthday party may be atplace A, a user of the sharing device drafts the sharing messages atplace B and sends an item to the other participants of the birthdayparty. Hence the list may be generated and stored at any point in timeand later be utilized for any user operations such as sharing of digitalcontent.

During the final sharing step 166, the method 150 enables the user ofthe sharing device to modify the drafted personal content sharingmessage or messages or to configure the sharing to be automatic, forexample, if specific conditions are met such as personal content isshared with a possibly restricted access “home” weblog/moblog. Thus inmany situations the user of the sharing device may share personalcontent item by performing a single click operation.

It should be understood that the sharing device may utilize a firstcommunication network for identifying the plurality of devices inphysical proximity of the sharing device and a second communicationnetwork for sharing the personal content. For example, the firstcommunication network may be a mobile telecommunication network and thesecond communication network may be Bluetooth.

The method 150 may, as described above, be implemented as a personalcontent manager application established in hard- or software. Hence acomputer program performing said method 150 when run on a sharing deviceis part of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: (a) causing a firstcommunication network to be utilized to identify a presence of one ormore devices in physical proximity of a terminal; (b) generating a listof said identified one or more devices in response to a user controlledoperation of said terminal; (c) associating said list with said usercontrolled operation; and (d) causing a service to be provided based onthe list of the identified one or more devices, wherein causing theservice to be provided further comprises causing billing of servicesrendered to be provided based on the presence of the identified one ormore devices at a particular point in time.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said first communication network comprises a Bluetooth network,wireless local area network, a mobile telecommunication network, aninter-network such as the Internet, or any combination thereof.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said physical proximity is defined by atransmission range within said first communications network, by a borderat a geographical distance from said terminal, or by any combinationthereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying one or moredevices comprises receiving a communication network identity for adevice in physical proximity of said terminal and further comprisingassociating said communication network identity of said device with apersonal identity of a user of said device and further comprisingassociating said personal identity with a sharing technique, whereinsaid sharing technique comprises a short messaging services message, amultimedia messaging services message, an email, a server system havinga shared memory accessible by said terminal and said one or more devicesor any combination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein causing aservice to be provided further comprises recapping the presence of theidentified one or more devices at a given particular point in time.
 6. Amethod comprising: (a) causing a first communication network to beutilized to identify one or more devices in physical proximity of aterminal; (b) generating a list of said identified one or more devicesin response to a user controlled operation of said terminal; (c)associating said list with said user controlled operation; (d) receivinga selection of one or more recipients from said list; and (e) causing anitem to be shared with said one or more recipients, wherein said sharinginvolves distribution on a second communication network, and whereinsaid item comprises a text recording, an image recording, an audiorecording, or any combination thereof.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinsaid the first and second communication networks comprise a Bluetoothnetwork, wireless local area network, a mobile telecommunicationnetwork, an inter-network such as the Internet, or any combinationthereof.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein said identifying one or moredevices comprises receiving a communication network identity for adevice in physical proximity of said terminal and wherein saidcommunication network identity comprises a Bluetooth ID, a radiofrequency ID, a wireless communication protocol ID, a cell ID, or anycombination thereof.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein said identifyingone or more devices comprises receiving a communication network identityfor a device in physical proximity of said terminal and furthercomprising associating said communication network identity of saiddevice with a personal identity of a user of said device.
 10. The methodof claim 9, further comprising associating said personal identity with asharing technique.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said sharingtechnique comprises a short messaging services message, a multimediamessaging services message, an email, a server system having a sharedmemory accessible by said terminal and said one or more devices or anycombination thereof.
 12. The method of claim 6, wherein said physicalproximity is defined by a transmission range within said firstcommunications network, by a border at a geographical distance from saidterminal, or by any combination thereof.
 13. The method of claim 6,further comprising clustering said item with any other item of saidterminal according to a recording time of said item and a recording timeof said any other item.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein saidclustering further comprises clustering said item with said any otheritem of said terminal according to associated geographic recordingposition of said terminal.
 15. The method of claim 6, further comprisingdrafting a sharing message comprising said item or a link to a sharedmemory storing said item.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein draftingthe sharing message includes drafting the sharing message automaticallyin an instance in which specific conditions are met.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein one specific condition is that personal content isshared with a restricted access home weblog/moblog.
 18. A non-transitorymemory device having a computer program stored thereon, the computerprogram, when executed, being configured to direct an apparatus to atleast: cause a first communication network to be utilized to identify apresence of one or more devices in physical proximity of a terminal;generate a list of said identified one or more devices in response to auser controlled operation of said terminal; associate said list withsaid user controlled operation; and cause a service to be provided basedon the list of the identified one or more devices, wherein beingconfigured to direct the apparatus to cause the service to be providedincludes being configured to direct the apparatus to cause billing ofservices rendered to be provided based on the presence of the identifiedone or more devices at a particular point in time.
 19. A non-transitorymemory device having a computer program stored thereon, the computerprogram, when executed, being configured to direct an apparatus to atleast: cause a first communication network to be utilized to identifyone or more devices in physical proximity of a terminal; generate a listof said identified one or more devices in response to a user controlledoperation of said terminal; associate said list with said usercontrolled operation; receive a selection of one or more recipients fromsaid list; and cause an item to be shared with said one or morerecipients, wherein said sharing involves distribution on a secondcommunication network, and wherein said item comprises a text recording,an image recording, an audio recording, or any combination thereof. 20.The non-transitory memory device of claim 19, wherein the computerprogram is further configured to direct the apparatus to draft a sharingmessage comprising said item or a link to a shared memory storing saiditem, wherein being configured direct the apparatus to draft saidsharing message includes being configured to direct the apparatus todraft said sharing message automatically in an instance in whichspecific conditions are met.
 21. The non-transitory memory device ofclaim 20, wherein one specific condition is that personal content isshared with a restricted access home weblog/moblog.
 22. An apparatuscomprising circuitry and a memory device having a computer program codestored thereon, the memory device and the computer program configured towith the circuitry, direct the apparatus at least to: cause a firstcommunication network to be utilized to identify a presence of one ormore devices in physical proximity of said communication terminal;generate a list of said identified one or more devices in response to auser controlled operation of said communication terminal; associate saidlist with said user controlled operation; and cause a service to beprovided based on the list of the identified one or more devices,wherein being directed to cause the service to be provided includesbeing directed to cause billing of services rendered to be providedbased on the presence of the identified one or more devices at aparticular point in time.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein beingdirected to cause the first communication network to be utilized furthercomprises being directed to use physical position information receivedfrom a physical positioning service in said first communication network,wherein a local phonebook is used to narrow a number of identitiesprovided in the physical positioning information.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 22, wherein being directed to generate the list includes beingdirected to generate the list via a delivery list generator.
 25. Anapparatus comprising circuitry and a memory device having a computerprogram code stored thereon, the memory device and the computer programconfigured to, with the circuitry, direct the apparatus at least to:cause a first communication network to be utilized to identify one ormore devices in physical proximity of a terminal; generate a list ofsaid identified one or more devices in response to a user controlledoperation of said terminal; associate said list with said usercontrolled operation; receive a selection of one or more recipients fromsaid list; and cause an item to be shared with said one or morerecipients, wherein said sharing involves distribution on a secondcommunication network, and wherein said item comprises a text recording,an image recording, an audio recording, or any combination thereof. 26.The apparatus of claim 25, wherein being directed to cause the firstcommunication network to be utilized further comprises being directed touse physical position information received from a physical positioningservice in said first communication network.
 27. The apparatus of claim25, wherein being directed to generate the list includes being directedto generate the list via a delivery list generator.
 28. The apparatus ofclaim 25, wherein being directed to cause an item to be shared includesbeing directed to cause an item to be shared via a sharing listgenerator.
 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the apparatus isconfigured to use the first communication network to identify and thesecond communication network to distribute.
 30. The apparatus of claim25, wherein the apparatus is further directed to draft a sharing messagecomprising said item or a link to a shared memory storing said item. 31.The apparatus of claim 30, wherein being directed to draft the sharingmessage includes being directed to draft the sharing messageautomatically in an instance in which specific conditions are met. 32.The apparatus of claim 31, wherein one specific condition is thatpersonal content is shared with a restricted access home weblog/moblog.